Pilgrim milestone achieved today – COMPLETION OF OUR FIRST 200 MILES! Arrived at our destination, Castrojeriz at 1:00 pm,, and our GPS registered that we had walked exactly 200 miles! Today was a rather short 12.3 miles through the Meseta. When we left Hornillos del Camino we once again had a long climb with an elevation change of 570 feet. Once on top of the mountain we still had over 5 miles to our first stop, Hontanas. The most unique element of this first 6.2 miles was how far we could see on this seemingly endless vista – you literally walked and walked and nothing seemed to get much closer. Finally, our of nowhere, the high plains dipped and exposed a storybook village, Hontanas. Great stop for breakfast, after a 2 1/2 hour trek. Upon leaving Hontanas, we had approximately 6 more miles to complete the day, with only one possible stop to break up the walk. But what a stop it was! Three and a half miles down the road, we saw the Ruins of Convento de San Anton. Remnants of an impressive 12th century monastery, located on what formerly was the garden of King Pedro I of Castile. The monastery of San Anton was used as a hospital, caring specifically for the sick who walked the Camino de Santiago. The monastery was also under royal protection at the time, and thus the purpose of the royal crests still present in the front of the church. There is a very rustic and spartan alburgue on site, that functions without electricity. It was not yet open, because the nights are still too cold, but we were lucky enough to talk to the caretaker, who happened to drive up and let us tour the facility. Despite its limited amenities, we ‘ll agreed it would have been fascinating to spend a night there! From there it was a fairly short hike to the eastern edge of Castrojeriz. Little did we know that this small town of 900 was nearly 3/4 of a mile long AND all uphill. We had lunch in the Plaza Mayor and checked into a charming rural hotel.
A lifetime experience